28/03: 60 travellers probably reached Lampedusa

29.03.2021 / 12:15 / Central Mediterranean Sea

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 28th March 2021

Case name: 2021_03_28-CM392
Situation: 60 travellers probably reached Lampedusa.
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Central Mediterranean Sea

Summary of the Case: In the evening of Sunday the 28th of March around 21h00 CEST, the Alarm Phone was called by a boat in distress carrying approximately 60 travellers, all men. The travellers had departed the previous night from Libya and when they called us they were approximately 30 kilometers from Lampedusa, they were afraid of having to spend another night at sea. At 21h37 we alerted the Italian coastguard by email. At 21h40 we called the
Italian coastguard and the officer confirmed reception of our email. At 22h20 we spoke again to the travellers who could see a boat approaching behind them. They also gave us updated coordinates which we immediately forwarded to the Italian authorities. Unfortunately during the rest of the night we were no longer able to reach the travellers. When the next morning our shift team called the Italian coastguard to inquire about a rescue operation we were given no information. Finally, while we did not receive confirmation we believe that the travellers reached Lampedusa as the last position they gave us was very close to Italian territorial waters.

Last update: 20:11 Aug 28, 2021

Credibility:

Border police patrols
While the exact location of patrols is of course constantly changing, this line indicates the approximate boundary routinely patrolled by border guards’ naval assets. In the open sea, it usually correspond to the outer extent of the contiguous zone, the area in which “State may exercise the control necessary to prevent infringement of its customs, fiscal, immigration or sanitary laws” (UNCLOS, art. 33). Data source: interviews with border police officials.
Coastal radars
Approximate radar beam range covered by coastal radars operating in the frame of national marine traffic monitoring systems. The actual beam depends from several different parameters (including the type of object to be detected). Data source: Finmeccanica.
Exclusive Economic Zone
Maritime area beyond and adjacent to the territorial sea in which the coastal state exercises sovereign rights for the purposes of exploring and exploiting, conserving and managing the natural resources, whether living or non-living, the seabed and its subsoil and the superjacent waters. Its breadth is 200 nautical miles from the straight baselines from which the territorial sea is measured (UNCLOS, Arts. 55, 56 and 57). Data source: Juan Luis Suárez de Vivero, Atlas of the European Seas and Oceans
Frontex operations
Frontex has, in the past few years, carried out several sea operations at the maritime borders of the EU. The blue shapes indicate the approximate extend of these operations. Data source: Migreurop Altas.
Mobile phone coverage
Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) network coverage. Data source: Collins Mobile Coverage.
Oil and gas platforms
Oil and gas platforms in the Mediterranean. Data source:
Search and Rescue Zone
An area of defined dimensions within which a given state is has the responsibility to co-ordinate Search and Rescue operations, i.e. the search for, and provision of aid to, persons, ships or other craft which are, or are feared to be, in distress or imminent danger. Data source: IMO availability of search and rescue (SAR) services - SAR.8/Circ.3, 17 June 2011.
Territorial Waters
A belt of sea (usually extending up to 12 nautical miles) upon which the sovereignty of a coastal State extends (UNCLOS, Art. 2). Data source: Juan Luis Suárez de Vivero, Atlas of the European Seas and Oceans